Chiral ferrocene-based phosphine-imine ligands 1-3 and sulfur-imine ligand 4 were applied in the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of cycloalkenyl esters. The results revealed that the substitutents in aryl ring, ferrocenylmethyl and benzyliene position strongly affected the enantioselective induction of phosphine-imine ligands, and the most stereoselective ligand was ferrocenylphosphine-imine 1b with a nitro group in the meta-position of phenyl ring. Under the optimized condition, up to 91% (enantiomeric excesses) e.e. of cyclic alkylation product was obtained by the use of 1b. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.